The New Regiment

David Spencer remembered the last hour of his life vividly. There he was, sitting across from The Ritz Hotel in the Boston Common preparing himself for a little game of "Find the Ball". A crowd began to form as David's brother, Mark, (An odd name for the brother of a Con-Man. And not even his real brother, when it came down to it) won game after game, showing how "Easy" it was to make money off stupid David Spencer. Mark left as the people slapped down five after five.

David was an experienced confidence trickster though. He palmed balls, diverted attention, and knew when to let another person win. People kept on coming and leaving, winning and losing, not realizing they were being cheated at all. The handsome young man behind the booth, with his olive complexion, golden hair, sapphire eyes and calm, sensitive demeanor wouldn't cheat them! With the exception of one man.

Sargent Blaine of the BPD had been following David for a good month now. It had taken Blaine many years to figure out what David was, how he managed to survive for so long without a real job and live in actual luxury. Young David Spencer was known to give his money to the poor freely, throwing fifty dollar bills around like they were confetti. Once Blaine knew that David was conning the people of his city, even if it was only the mean and heartless citizens, he had to be stopped.

Blaine confronted David, asking him about the set-up he had. David just smiled back, teeth reflecting a glint from the noonday sun, and offered the copper to a game. The copper had no intention of playing, but somehow, someway, he had lost forty dollars to the ball game. Blaine flashed his badge and David was gone, running across the commons and into the Ritz motel. Blaine followed, bellowing his name and rank, along with his Miranda Rights.

David looked around the posh foyer, searching for a way out. Nothing revealed itself and David was forced to improvise, taking shelter in the bathroom. The Sargent followed him, knowing there was no way out for the con man. His ass was his. He checked each stall, seeing no boots on the floor. The Sargent wasn't one to be tricked that easily. A search of all but one stalls turned up nothing and Blaine, using his process of elimination, deduced that the last stall contained his prisoner. He threw open the stall, laughing triumphantly. The laugh cut off halfway through; the stall was empty.

There had been a flash of light, that little he did remember. Blue. He had always liked the color blue. And in this case, it had been his savior. David also remember drifting in nothingness for what seemed like an eternity, questions about his existence welling up inside him. And then he was on a beach, freezing and thirsty. Something cold and metallic was pressed against his skin and further investigation revealed that something to be a layer of metal. The metal conformed to his body perfectly, moving as he did, so David saw no reason to remove it. There was also, for some inexplainable reason, a triple bladed dagger at his side, tucked through his belt.

And he was alone. That prospect scared him more than anything. If there was anything David actually hated it was being alone. He would even welcome that damn cop! Quite literally ANYONE would do at this point in time.

"Beaches...no fun at all, lately..." Tredging his way through the sand, the seemingly unarmed man sighed under his breath. His signature red cloak had been carelessly slung over his shoulder; too hot to wear the damn thing, although the protection it provided from the sun was something to be desired, given his fair skin tone. "Too damn hot, sand gets everywhere, nothing to do, and worst of all...no girls sunbathing. What is the world coming to?" His quiet stream of complaints continued for a while longer, until he came to a sudden stop, noticing a figure ahead. A triple bladed dagger...well, at least there was someone else around, armed or not.

And anyone, apparently, constituted this new fellow. Spencer looked down the beach, seeing Jinzou trudging through the sand, a stooped, pale figure with abnormally long ears. That stood from the top of his head. Oh....Kay, he was one of those cosplayers, but that still beat being alone. "Hello there, David called out, waving his dagger and free hand over his head. "Care to tell me where I am? Friend?" He added hopefully afterwards, becoming aware that his new "friend" just might not be a "friend".

"Eh? This world used to be called Destiny Island, I believe. Sanctum records list the world as being called...Flooded Destiny, now. The name might have been changed due to well...flooding, clearly. I'm...guessing you're not from around here." Tossing his cloak off to the side, the neko took a seat a fair distance from the water. "Jinzou Kitai," he offered, stating his name.

David stared at him for a very long time, then looked out at the sea. "Ah, yes, of course. And where, pray tell, is this Flooded Destiny, exactly?" He chose to ignore the phrase "This World". Clearly this little boy had to get out more and stop talking in that funny lingo. Although, David had to admit, the ears were surprisingly life-like. And how he managed to hide his other ears was beyond him.

"Where is Flooded Destiny? That's a good question. The best answer would be...right here, I guess. It's not anywhere else, as far as I know. World-hopping is a very complex science; focuses more on destination than location." Looking up at the sky, he frowned for a moment, thinking. "I think...Stonerose is supposed to be in that direction, while my homeworld of Mugendai was...that way." He pointed out two seperate points in the sky, estimating based on prior experience.

David nodded slowly, beginning to back away. "Right," David said reassuringly. "Planet-Hopping. That's very... interesting! Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go find my space ship so I can go back to Earth." David started to turn around, shaking his head. It figured that the one guy he should find in this new country would be completely stark-raving mad. Oh well, if there was one guy there was bound to be others.

"Don't believe me? So you're one of those, then." Jinzou laughed quietly, amused as he realized the other's situation. "Let me guess. You just woke up on the beach, yeah? No idea how you got here? Tell me, on this Earth world of yours, how often is it that one wakes up on an island, with no clue where they are or how they got there? Whether you want to accept it or not, this isn't the world you used to live in. You can either believe the truth...or simply accept all of this as a practical joke."

David came to a halt, the sea breeze throwing his pony tail out. Panic began to grip his stomach, twisting it into a knot. There was a grain of truth in what Jinzou was saying. This sort of thing never happened on Earth. And that blue light... no, something had happened here. And before Jinzou had found him, David felt that this world was different. Not wrong, but like it was another place. This wasn't Earth. "Flooded Destiny, huh," David asked, kicking at the sand. He didn't bother to turn around, wanting to hide his panic from Jinzou. "M-maybe I'm dreaming?" Jinzou could hear the sheer hope in his voice, the complete disregard for what was clear and real.

"Ever had a dream that seemed this realistic before? Sorry to say it, but I'm positive I'm not something you dreamed up. Nor is this world, for that matter. This isn't REM sleep, it's the real world." For a moment, Jinzou considered how the sheer absurdity of the situation should prove that it was truly happening; no one could simply dream up something so insane. But, if the other man had truly come from a world that didn't believe in other worlds, then it would follow suit that they also didn't believe in magic, meaning anything that would have proven the situation to be true would just increase skepticism.

''Oh there you are!'' a voice would come out, soft and gentle, musical in nature. From the area, a pink haired girl would appear, and her body was jogging softly towards the neko, as she stopped right near him. ''Sieg wants us. He's gathering a meeting a little ways back.'' the girl said, before smiling very gently. Turning her head, she raised an eyebrow at the male, looking him up and down. ''Wow. New person. So who's your friend? Not Varia, that much is sure... maybe that new group? Oh I dunno, might as well bring him too : Sieg's gonna be pissed if we take too long, right Jinzou?'' she said, her smile flashing as her deep blue eyes were swirling with a kindness that shone brightly. Leaning over and ruffling the neko's head, the girl's steps started to drift back towards the group, trusting that Jinzou and this strange would follow her, if anything. Oh well, what happened happened.

David covered his face with his hands, sighing deeply. As much as he hated the thought... it explained so much. The blue light, the logic that this Jinzou was spewing... it explained what was happening. This world, wherever it was in relation to Earth, was very real. And he was here. David looked out at the skyline and took a deep breath. And then he screamed for fifteen seconds straight, eyes screwed tightly in concentration. After his little episode he turned, smiling brightly. "Sorry 'bout that, mate. Had to be done," he said, stepping towards Jinzou with his arm extended. "The name is David, David Spencer. And I suppose I should-"

Shiri approached, instantly taking David's attention. So there were more people in this world. And, hell, right now it beat what would have happened back home, namely his violent arrest and surefire conviction. "Oh. Hello, miss."

Jinzou twitched his ears in mock annoyance at the girl's touch, a grin evident on his face as a result of her cheerful nature. After she had wandered off, he turned back towards the man, who had introduced himself as being called David Spencer. He jerked his head in the pink haired girl's direction, laughing a bit. "That was Shiri Arman; one of the members of the faction known as Sanctum." Picking his cloak up from the ground, he lazily slung it over one shoulder, motioning for David to walk with him. "I understand your need to vent a bit, screaming every now and then is a fair release, I suppose. Keeps you from going mad. Now, I suppose you'll need an update on the state of the worlds that know that other worlds exist; these are the places we tend to travel and operate. Across the worlds, there are three known factions. Sanctum, the...well, going by what our leader says, the good guys. We are lead by Sieglein Vai'Run, a mage. I serve as the group's second in command. Aside from Sanctum, there is one other faction; the Varia, a group of mercenaries, loyal to the highest bidder. I'm sure Sieg can explain better than I can."

David scoffed, sheathing his dagger. Looking down in surprise, David realized that he had a sheath for his dagger. And that he knew where it was off the top of his head. "Yeah, it did feel good, I suppose," David muttered, glancing at the sheath in continued confusion. "Sanctum, Varia and Ragnarök? Huh... sounds a little black and white, doesn't it? Heroes and Villains? Being so inflexible can only be a weakness... being so strictly good or bad... it's a little limiting, isn't it? It seems that the group of mercenaries, the Varia, they seem to make the most sense." David began to stroke his chin, following after Jinzou.

David looked taken aback by the stranger, turning to face Sieglein. People kept popping up on this beach, coming from nowhere, acting like he should be accepting of this. Perhaps it was just commonplace in this universe. "I see... you want to make a difference?" David bit the cuticle of his thumb, looking down at the sand in thought. Memories of his past life flashed before him, all he stole and gave away. "I wanted to make a difference back on Ear-... back where I came from. But," David paused, raising a finger. "I wasn't the best man, not by a long shot. I robbed, stole, swindled, bamboozled, cheated and swiped money from people who rightfully earned it and gave it to those less fortunate. I tried my best to just steal from the stupid and the cruel, but there were civilian casualties. I'd like to side with the good guys, but only if they'll accept me for what I am- a con-man." David looked around the group, defiant, his chest stuck out, practically begging someone to tell him that he wasn't good enough for them.

"We're the good guys in a proverbial sense. We don't kill the innocent, and we don't raze cities. So long as you can keep up the steal from the rich give to the poor mentality, then I don't see why having a con-man in our ranks would be a problem. Hell, if nothing else, you'll be amusing. Some of our allies are just no fun. Shiri's interesting enough, but Sieg...well, Sieg's about as fun as a brick wall." Jinzou's tone was amusingly teasing, as he nodded towards Sieglein.

Jinzou frowned slightly, listening to Sieg's words. It didn't sound like bad news...just wasn't exactly good news, either. ""E ryjah'd raynt vnus Mekura cehla...famm, cehla pavuna oui ryt du ku yht belg sa ib eh Traverse Town. Tuach'd cuiht mega res du cgeb uid uh nabundehk. Cdemm, dryd'c hudrehk cumet fa lyh fung fedr, cehla yc vyn yc fa ghuf, ra zicd kud fycdat yht crylgat ib fedr y kenm cusafrana. Damm sa frana oui cahd res mycd, yht E'mm ku caa fryd'c ib."" Awaiting orders from Sieg, he pulled his cloak fully on, rather than keeping it slung over his shoulder. "It'll leave you free to make sure David finds out just what Sanctum is, and meets some of the members."

David looked uncomprehendingly from Sieg to Jinzou, trying his hardest to understand. He heard the phrase "Traverse Town", but that might have been a fluke, a coincidence. The Con-Man followed after Jinzou and Sieg, placing his hand on the hilt of his dagger. "So... uh... how many members of Sanctum are there? And what's with the funny lingo?" Suddenly realizing where his hand was, and worrying the gesture might be misconstrued as a threat, David pulled his hand up as if burned and began chewing on the tip of his thumb again.

David stared at the back of his head, speechless. This 'Sieg' had to be playing silly buggers with him. A sacred language? Warriors? And he did not just tell him that he was supposed to "honor" them for their strength. "While I appreciate you two for helping me in my time of crisis, and while I believe that, from what I've seen of you, you two are nice enough people, I won't just 'honor'," he put air quotes around the word. "Anyone without them having earned it."

Grinning to himself, Jinzou clapped David on the back as he walked past. "Good path to live by. No one is due the slightest bit of honor, save for common courtesy. Give what is earned, and what is due. Avoids inflated egos." The air around his body began to darken, as if the sunlight was being blotted out where it fell around him. Shrugging, he turned his head towards Sieg. "Recover him? Easy enough...just hope he didn't do anything stupid. E tuh'd drehg dryd cdippunh vuum fuimt ypyhtuh y secceuh. EE'mm tnyk res pylg pmuuteat, gelgehk, yht clnaysehk ev ra tet." The darkness that had been forming around his body finally took form as two massive black wings; with a running start and two mighty flaps, Jinzou was gone, on his way towards the next world.

David stuck out his lower lip at the prospect of Jinzou leaving. It was probably because he was the first person who met him in this new place, if he was accepting that this was all real, but David liked Jinzou more than Sieg. Standing at the threshold of the portal, David shifted gazes from the swirling vortex to the length of sand that stretched out on his right. Something was pulling him that way, something... disconcerting... telling him to run away from the portal, to flee from Sanctum. "Well... I suppose I should stay with them for the time being... to see if I like their set up." David took a deep breath, said goodbye to this sandy paradise, and stepped through the portal. It snapped shut behind him.